The Experience of Immigrants

Several of the essays in this collection consider the perspective of someone who was born outside of the United States and the role their nationality plays in their identity. In "The Telephone," Anwar Accawi reflects on the simple, poor life in his village in Jordan. Though they went for a long time without a lot of modern conveniences, they were a very tightly knit community. The community dissolved when globalization drew his village into the global society. People began to leave for better jobs or, in Accawi's case, left for a better education. He reflects how everyone thought they would be better off as a result of participating in the global economy but laments that, so far, they are not.

In "Silent Dancing," Judith Ortiz Cofer recounts her experience as an immigrant to New York City from Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rican community was quite...